Increasing levels of physical activity in older adults and fall prevention are key concerns of current UK health policy. Regular physical activity has many positive benefits for older adults, for example in fall prevention. However, sedentary behaviour among older adults is common. Forty per cent of over 50s in the UK report less physical activity than is considered necessary to maintain good health. Sedentary behaviour is even more common in South Asian older people in the UK. The aim of this research was to investigate the attitudes and beliefs that drive or hinder uptake and adherence of physical activity, in general and in relation to fall prevention, among 60-70 year old Caucasian and South Asian community dwellers. An ethnographic method was chosen as the research approach as it provided the framework for facilitating the incorporation of multiple voices. Two main geographical areas were chosen to conduct the study and included eight sites of study. Data collection used multiple methods (participant observation, focus groups and semi-structured interviews). In total 60 hours of participant observation, 15 focus group discussions (n = 87; mean age = 65.74 years) and 40 semi-structured interviews (mean age = 64.83 yrs) were conducted. Data analysis and classification followed a framework approach, comparing and contrasting themes within and across groups. Findings demonstrate that older people do not recognise falls as a risk and are not motivated to perform physical activity on a regular basis purely to help prevent falls. Social support and social benefits of physical activity appear to be key motivators to initiating and maintaining physical activity. Enjoyment, increased self-confidence and developing social networks seem to be important motivators in terms of adherence. Health, although a good motivator for the initiation of physical activity, appears to be a secondary motivator in terms of adherence. Barriers to physical activity include perceived and actual poor physical health, lack of social support, specificity of physical activity messages by health professionals as well as lack of motivation, low mood, fear of harm and domestic and carer issues. These findings suggest that older adults should be assessed individually, to address physical symptoms and possible low mood, and not according to age. The importance of exercise, even in the presence of physical illness needs to be explained. There is a need to promote confidence in older people’s ability to perform an activity, as this appears to be essential in continuing with exercise. Activities that take a ‘one size fits all’ approach, serve as a de-motivating force. Variety in exercise and physical activity is important to maintain motivation in the long-term.

Psykisk hälsa är viktigt att arbeta med vilket är något som skolan bör bidra till. Studier tyder på att det är effektivt att arbeta främjande och förebyggande mot psykisk ohälsa för att minska risken för elevers insjuknande. Denna studie undersöker skolkuratorers upplevelse av handlingsutrymme i arbetet med elevers psykiska hälsa samt möjligheterna att arbeta främjande mot psykisk hälsa. Intervjuer med sex yrkesverksamma skolkuratorer tematiserades. Resultatet från frågeställningen ”hur arbetar skolkuratorer med elevers psykiska hälsa” tyder på att de strävar efter men inte alltid lyckas lägga fokus på förebyggande och främjande insatser. Frågeställningen ”hur upplever skolkuratorer sitt handlingsutrymme” besvaras att det påverkas av tidsbrist, samverkan med andra verksamheter och att de ej får bedriva behandlande verksamhet. Resultatet speglar tidigare forskning och denna studie kan användas till framtida forskning för att ha fokus på förebyggande insatserna och varför det är ett effektivt att arbeta med.

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Social and Clinical pharmacy Student: Veronika Fořtová Supervisor: Jitka Pokladníková Title of diploma thesis: Health promotion in community pharmacy The main aim of this diploma thesis is the evaluation of the questionnaire survey among the pharmacists in a relation to the alternative approaches to the health care, and the evaluation of the obstacles that are hindering greater development of these approaches. The theoretical part describes issues connected with health and health promotion. The next part is focused on alternative approaches to health, describing human as a whole being and relationship being, complementary and alternative medicine, and on describing traditional Chinese medicine. The research part is describing initial conditions for the implementation of the questionnaire survey and describes information resulting from this survey divided into several different aspects (city size, age category of respondents, length of their experience etc.). In the discussion part, the theoretical part is summarized that the bio-psycho-social approach is developed by the psychosomatic medicine. This integral view coincides with the initial definition of health, respectively with the intent described in WHO...

Health is one of the most important things in human life and it also deeply affects its quality. Health prevention and promotion is fundamental both for individuals and the whole society. This thesis analyses the economic approaches to health prevention and promotion. The main aim of this thesis is the analysis of health promotion with respect to colorectal cancer. However, this is not a standard effectiveness analysis but the analysis of the future development in unique Czech environment. According to Czech demographic trends and based on incidence and mortality predictive ARIMA models for colorectal cancer, this work quantifies the increasing costs related to this disease treatment in 2024 and 2028. Also, it makes recommendations on possible spending on possible prevention related to this disease.

Teenage pregnancy is a global problem and its prevalence in South Africa poses a serious concern to the government, health workers, parents, teachers, communities, and social workers in particular. As such, social work services are crucial in assisting pregnant teenagers to be self-reliant. Social workers employ three primary methods of social work practice when providing services to pregnant teenagers, namely casework, group work, and community work. This study sought to explore social work services for pregnant teenagers. A qualitative research method using an exploratory, descriptive, and contextual research design was employed to gather data from 12 social workers working in both rural and urban settings in the Capricorn District, Limpopo Province. A non-probability, purposive sampling method was used to select a sample. Data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews, consisting of a list of open-ended questions included in an interview guide. Data was also analysed following Tesch eight steps while Lincoln and Guba’s model was used for data verification. There are several stumbling blocks to effective service delivery, such as complex social problems experienced by pregnant teenagers, lack of formal and informal support, high caseloads, lack of resources, and little cooperation from other disciplines and agencies. Based on these findings, recommendations are made for education, practice, policy, and further research in an attempt to provide solutions to these challenges. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Science)

Ein gesundes Alter(n) ist sowohl auf individueller Ebene als auch auf gesellschaftlicher Ebene von großer Relevanz. So wächst die Bedeutung von Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung bis ins hohe Alter – einerseits, um die Autonomie, Selbstbestimmtheit, soziale Teilhabe und Lebensqualität des älteren Menschen aufrecht zu erhalten und andererseits, um den durch den demografischen Wandel bedingten gesundheitspolitischen Herausforderungen begegnen zu können. Dabei weist der gesundheitliche Status im Alter neben hoher Vulnerabilität eine Vielzahl an Ressourcen und somit Ansatzpunkte für präventive und gesundheitsförderliche Interventionen auf. Technische Innovationen bieten hier ein wachsendes Potenzial, um Maßnahmen dieser Art zu stützen. Zur Erschließung des neuartigen Themenfeldes werden die Ergebnisse dreier Einzeluntersuchungen berichtet, in welchen sowohl qualitative als auch quantitative Methoden angewandt werden. Mit Hilfe der Durchführung von Expertinneninterviews werden Bedarf und Potenzial innovativer Technik in Prävention und Gesundheitsförderung für Ältere und erste Anforderungen an eine solche Technik erfasst. Eine innovative Möglichkeit zur Umsetzung präventiver und gesundheitsförderlicher Interventionen bieten digitale Bewegungsspiele. So werden darauffolgend im Rahmen einer quasi-experimentellen Kohortenstudie gesundheitsbezogene Veränderungen durch das Spielen sog. Serious Games im Setting (teil-)stationäres Pflegewohnen evaluiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen erste gesundheitsförderliche Tendenzen. Innerhalb einer Fokusgruppe werden abschließend drei digitale Bewegungsspielsysteme unter Beachtung zielgruppenspezifischer Bedarfe bewertet und notwendige Ressourcen für den erfolgreichen Einsatz im Anwendungskontext erarbeitet. Um die neugewonnenen Erkenntnisse in nachhaltiger Form nutzbar zu machen, werden diese in einem Anforderungskatalog für die erfolgreiche Implementierung eines digitalen Bewegungsspiels im Kontext der Pflege zusammengefasst. / Being healthy in old age and aging healthily is of great relevance at both the individual and societal level. Thus, the importance of prevention and health promotion even in an old age is growing - on the one hand, to maintain the autonomy, self-determination, social participation and quality of life of the elderly and, on the other hand, to be able to meet the health policy challenges caused by demographic change. Health in old age is not only highly vulnerable but also offers a multitude of resources and starting points for preventive and health-promoting interventions. Technical innovations offer a growing potential to support measures of this kind. In order to open up this new field of research, the results of three individual studies are reported, in which both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. By conducting expert interviews, the need and potential of innovative technology in prevention and health promotion for the elderly as well as first requirements for such a technology are identified. Digital exercise games offer an innovative possibility for the implementation of preventive and health-promoting interventions. Subsequently, health-related changes caused by playing digital exercise games, so-called serious games, in the setting of nursing care are evaluated within the framework of a quasi-experimental cohort study. The results show first health-promoting tendencies through playing serious games. Last, three digital exercise game systems will be evaluated in a focus group on the basis of the needs of the target group. Additionally, the necessary resources for successful use of such systems in a real application context are developed in a participatory way. In order to make the newly gained knowledge usable in a way that is sustainable and relevant for practical use, it is then summarized in a catalogue of requirements for the successful implementation of a digital exercise game in the nursing environment.

Balansen mellan krav och resurser används i det organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljöarbetet (OSA) och är grunden för en trygg och säker arbetsmiljö. En påfrestande arbetsbelastning kan ta sig uttryck i konflikter såsom kränkningar, hot om våld och våld som i sin tur leder till ohälsa och arbetsskador. Kränkande särbehandling är vanligare till sjöss jämfört med landbaserade yrken. Svensk sjöfartsnäring är en mansdominerad arbetsplats där kvinnliga medarbetare utgör 30 % av ombordanställda och är en minoritetsgrupp. Kvinnor i en mansdominerad bransch löper en ökad risk för kränkningar, vilket metoo-rörelsen och den svenska sjöfartens motsvarighet #lättaankar vittnar om.  Syftet med masteruppsatsen var att identifiera åtgärder utifrån ett MTO-perspektiv för att utveckla en god organisatorisk och social arbetsmiljö inom svensk sjöfart. En blandad metoddesign tillämpades för att samla in data från Arbetsmiljöverkets arbetsskadestatistik och data från två cafédialoger med 37 branschföreträdare från den svenska sjöfartsnäringen.  Resultatet visade 87 fall av arbetsskador relaterade till den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön mellan 2009-2019. Resultatet utifrån branschföreträdarnas upplevelser belyser behovet av att förbättra organisationsstrukturer och arbetssätt som minskar riskerna för ohälsa samt arbetsskador relaterade till den organisatoriska och sociala arbetsmiljön.  Masteruppsatsen var en delstudie i forskningsprojektet Praktiskt arbetsmiljöarbete för en jämställd sjöfart finansierat av AFA försäkring mellan 2019-2021. / Praktiskt arbetsmiljöarbete för en jämställd sjöfart